'We all follow the West Ham'

Nobody quite understands the saying 'distance only makes the heart grow fonder' quite like members of the Perth Hammers.

Hailing from the city of Perth on the Western Australia coast, the Perth Hammers remain dedicated West Ham United fans despite living a considerable distance of approximately 10,750 miles away from the Boleyn Ground.

Speaking before West Ham's convincing 2-0 win over London rivals Queens Park Rangers, East Ender Max Nosworthy spoke of his excitement to be back at the Boleyn Ground.

"I'm absolutely buzzing at the moment. I've got my daughter with me today, it's her first game. It's fantastic to be here, it's my first trip over this year.

"I'm also going to Burnley away as well. I won't have the little one with me that day!"

The Australian based supporters club have an impressive history, as avid fan Janine explains: "I was born in London, but my dad emigrated our family to Perth, Western Australia in the late 80s. He was chairman of the Perth Hammers for over 20 years, and he made sure he passed that on to his kids.

"I've been in London for a few months so I've tried to see as many games as possible while I've been over here. It's a really great atmosphere over here, I love it. I'm actually moving back to London because I love it so much."

Several members of the Perth Hammers made the arduous journey, however Janine enthused the Hammers were worth travelling for.

"We're all very excited. It's been a good start to the season and we're trying to soak as much atmosphere up as possible while we're here. We're having a great time so far."

As part of the Hammers' pre-season tour members of the club travelled to Winston Reid's homeland of New Zealand. Despite being over 3,000 miles away, the Perth Hammers were well represented.

"One of the guys travelled all that way, he made a special flag. He met some of the players and saw them training. He said he had an absolutely amazing time, everyone he met was lovely to meet and the players all said how excited they were to be playing in a new place, and a different part of the world.

"There are a lot more fans than you'd think. There are a lot of ex-pats who have got kids and they're spreading that tradition on. It's good to raise awareness, there are quite a few supporters clubs in Perth. It's nice to watch the game together, have a chat about the football and a couple of beers, it's good."

Another supporters club also represented at the QPR match the Dublin Hammers. Club member Alan Corr spoke of his excitement at watching West Ham in the flesh, saying: "Two or three times a year we come over. We're from the Dublin Hammers, a group made up of a number of nationalities. We come together in Dublin, to our club to watch the games.

"People come from Cork, Donegal from all over the country really. There's a good few supporters that come over every week."